What are the eye movements needed for efficient reading?
Saccades are the eye movements needed for reading. A saccade is a rapid movement of the eyes. The brain must tell the eyes to saccade to the next word when reading a line of text. The brain must also tell the eyes to saccade to the next line of text at the end of each previous line. Equally important is the ability to stop the saccade movement on the next word. If your eyes overshoot the next word, this is called hypermetria. This is one reason that kids skip words. If your eyes undershoot, or stop too early, this is called hypometria. See the figure below for a graphic description of how this effects reading. Both are inefficient ways of reading. Accurate stopping of the eyes is coordinated by your cerebellum. For more information on the importance of optimal cerebellum function read Basic Brain Development and Function.
